RSSGoogle Drops 'Gmail' Name in Britain
By Nate Mook | Published October 19, 2005, 1:32 PM
Due to an ongoing trademark dispute in the United Kingdom, Google has changed the name of its free Web mail service from Gmail to "Google Mail." The switch was made after the company failed to come to an agreement with financial research company Independent International Investment Research (IIIR).
IIIR offers an e-mail service called G-Mail through its Pronet subsidiary, and owns the trademark for Gmail in the UK. Google said on its Web site that it attempted to resolve the dispute through negotiations, but failed to reach a compromise with IIIR.
"This company has been very focused on a monetary settlement," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. "We went back and forth trying to settle on reasonable terms, but the sums of money this company is demanding are exorbitant."
From now on, all new users from the UK who sign up with Google will receive an e-mail address ending in @googlemail.com. "We are still working with the courts and trademark office to protect our ability to use the Gmail name, but in the meantime, we want you to have an email address you can rely on," the company said.
The change will not affect existing Gmail users located in the UK, but Google warned that it did not know what the future may hold. "The trademark issue is still unsettled, and unfortunately, we cannot predict what the other party or the courts might do here."
According to press reports, IIIR values its Gmail trademark at 25 million British pounds.
25 million quid? They can't afford that?
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Well why don't they just buy the goons over at IIIR? Google has enough cash they could fix this problem in a New York minute.
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I don't feel sorry for Google one bit, that's just business. Google should have secured that name way before they decided to go with it. Don't get me wrong, I really like google and use it everyday, but I will not go through life thinking that they can do no wrong either. You snooze you lose.
Hopefully they can come to some sort of agreement, or not...
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That is a bit harsh 'jshurst' I suppose when Google was creating Gmail they were actually trying to make it a nice thing for people to use and not worrying too much about the legal aspects as they were already a well known search engine.
How can you not feel sorry for Google one bit?
Have you never done anything wrong in your life?
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Google should have checked the name before they used it, plain and simple. They cant whine about being asked to pay millions when this simple check would have sorted it. Im sure there is a lesson for everyone there.
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What a load of crap posted by people below. Just because you love Google and you think it's wonderful, doesn't mean it's okay to nick someone's existing trademark just because you think Google's got a better product and are more well known. What complete utter sheer crap!
"London-based Independent International Investment Research says it started using the Gmail name for a web-mail application two years before Google." - BBC
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There is something floating around down there about IIIR registered the name right before Google reached over the lake. If that is true then IIIR is a pathetic group of people.
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Google should sue IIIR for taking them into coutrt and getting advertisment out of it, part from that they should also be sued for extortion. Why dose everyone want to get money oyt of good companys, they should atleast figure out a more creative way of doin it.
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Whoever said google was just a money grab was right on the money. It's called extortion people. (Did I spell that right? Oh well.)
Whoever talked about Nissan (not Nissen), I don't remember wehn Nissan changed from Datsun, but it seems to me it was before there was domain registries.
I hate people who try to make easy money through the courts. It's what is wrong with the American dream. The American dream is no longer "Work hard and succeed", it's "whine and complain till someone gives you money". I'm pretty sure the forefathers would be very impressed with all of us.
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"I hate people who try to make easy money through the courts. It's what is wrong with the American dream. The American dream is no longer "Work hard and succeed", it's "whine and complain till someone gives you money". I'm pretty sure the forefathers would be very impressed with all of us."
Don't know about all that other stuff, but this was right on the money.
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Yeah, I second that. Good comment.
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Blah blah blah blah blah......Google this......Google that.....
Google is the Devil.
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No way, Micro$oft, AOL are evil. I still can't see anything wrong with Google. They have (by far) the best search engine, and are releasing top quality FREE apps. I think they are on the good way. I only hope they continue kicking a**es.
I'm waiting for google OS!
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I'd love to see i&G stuff in the future(no, not InG Direct...)...I can take a ride on the iPod down to the local store where I can browse a fine selection of Gdesktop 10, GmailServer 5, and Mac OSX 10.18.
Come on, it'll be fun! ;)
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FFS its internet and they bought the domain so its legally on the internet internic and thus legally GOOGLE to use its domain gmail.com FFS wakeup guys
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I remembered a similar case a few years back, there is a website call nissen.com and was forced to shut down by Nissen the carmaker. nissen.com was registered way before the car maker changed it's name to Nissen.
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I don't think legal defense being underfunded is going to be a factor in this case.
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Google must have known about the IIIR before using that name. It bothers me that they would use the gmail name knowing it's already used. Then again there's that Vista thing going on with Microsoft, and heck we're running out of catch phrases and product names that HAVEN'T been used, so maybe IIIR just wants to take advantage of an opportunity to get rich fast...
"According to press reports, IIIR values its Gmail trademark at 25 million British pounds."
Wow, I didn't know trademarks could weigh so much ;) (joking)
EDIT: Based on comments below I see I may be mistaken...I thought that gmail had existed in IIIR for some time...can't think of why I thought that. Even if Google knew, IIIR definately appears to be stooping to lower levels than google would have been.
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But a good one, good joke I mean :)
I like gmail.com it's much shorter than googlemail .com But IIIR was firs and it's thair choice to sell gmail, or not :(
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It was untrademarked/unpatented until shortly before Google released the service. IIIR was unheard of until they found out Google was about to release an email service.
Why would Google have known about them?
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Google should have done a trademark search before using the name. It's hardly difficult or expensive to do so, in fact if you visit patent.gov.uk during the day you can do a preliminary search for free.
I have no sympathy for companies who don't bother to research simple legal issues before launching a service.
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Agreed...any idiot knows you do a trademark search first. Many of these large companies launch services or products using a taken name and think they can bully their way out of it later. It's wrong and they shouldn't get away with it, no matter how much we like the company.
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I hope they lose it here in the USA too.
IIIR has owned "Gmail" befor google has. Just because Google is big doesn't mean they get to take stuff.
I hope people are forced to use googlemail.com everywhere. That will force Google to also change their Gmail logo.
Hahahahahahhahaha.....suckers.
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You just hate Google.
Have fun with that.
Let me know how it works out.
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Yeah, cuz that would, ya know, suck....
...'n stuff....
Google had no intention to take it, it went unregistered until Google was moments away from releasing it. IIIR rushed in those last moments to register/pantent in several coutnries.
This is simply a publicity/money-making stunt on their part.
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who cares. google home page full of bugs, gmail full of bugs. they are the best by far in search..but yahoo owns everything else.
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Bugs?
Where?
Go to gmail.com, look at the logo.
See the "Beta"
It means BETA. :-)
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YEAH!! haha owned!
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You sound someone that doesn't like to do anything useful and like to live at the cost of others.
At my point of view google has done more for humanity than you will ever be able to do in all your life.
I really hope someday you will have to eat on the plate where you are spiting.
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Why would you hope for something so s***ty? And that IIIR only owns it in UK. Bleh, you even smell like a troll after that message.
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Dude, you just got owned.
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Erf! This is interesting, I wish this would have been mentioned in the artical because this is important.
Did they (IIIR) really do something like that? If they really did that in last second Google could win that court case if they can proove it was to make money. Not sure how the court systems work in the UK really.
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Who cares, Google are just a company, why does everyone care so much, its not like you would get any of the money whoever wins. All the difference makes is that some people will be googlemail.co.uk instead of gmail.co.uk.
Who cares if the other company did it to make money? Good on them i say, if i had the opputunity i would as well, we are all here to live and living takes money.
I dont care if you all think i am being selfish, business is ruthless and if you arnt quick then you lose, google should have trademarked it when they thought of the idea, i wouldnt and havnt started a company without checking the name is available to use and buying it then and there.
For the same of £10 they could have registered that at the beginnging, would have saved all this moaning now. Laziness if you ask me and now they have lost out, oh well.
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